Breaking new ground 80 years apart
JUST IMAGINE some 120 years ago driving the very first car to arrive in a country – and not some far-flung outpost that had dodged the first wave of the internal combustion engine, but a major European nation. This month Massimo Delbò is the lucky man who senses the echoes of that incredible experience in piloting a Peugeot that has recently broken a century of silence (p120).
This magical contraption was the very first car in Italy, a vehicle that in the dying days of the 19th Century was so shocking to see that people crossed themselves or rode into ditches. Despite that initial reaction, it is also the very car that sparked a nation’s love affair with the automobile, a romance that would spiral to become the most intense on the planet. So what an adventure, now as then.
One of the greatest appeals of motoring has always been that sense of adventure and, to my mind, one of the great advances of classic motoring is that people have applied it ever more to older cars. Whereas once endurance rallies and continental touring in a classic were for the hardcore alone, now the majority of owners seem to have thrown off the shackles to experience their car as it would have been in period.
Improved breakdown cover and mobile phones have certainly helped build confidence, as has the industry that has ballooned around classic events and travelling. Our contribution to this exciting element of the hobby is to showcase some of the highlights every year in our Great Escapes supplement (p157). It’s brimful of ideas and adventures so, whether you need a little inspiration or some serious guidance, it’ll help you enjoy 2018 to the full.
Having got the gig of covering the Porsche RSR Turbo for us (p68), John Barker’s year may have peaked already. Just like the 1892 Peugeot, this Le Mans racer was the start of something big… and very, very noisy.